Miami Vice: Season Three

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All Rise...

Judge Daniel MacDonald never wears socks. Never.

The Charge

"Those chumps have the timing of a hippopotamus in
heat."—Ricardo Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas)

Opening Statement

Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson, Tin Cup) and Ricardo "Rico"
Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas, Fate) are back. Originally airing in the
1986-1987 television season, Miami Vice: Season Three sometimes takes a
dark path, often featuring downer endings and cruel ironies, but it continues to
spotlight the music and attitude that made it a hit show. Twenty years later,
does it still hold up?

Facts of the Case

Miami Vice: Season Three eschews the two-hour season opener precedent
set in its previous two seasons, opting instead for a standard episode (albeit
one featuring Liam Neeson (Kingdom of
Heaven). But while there is nothing as stand-out here as Season Two's
"The Prodigal Son," the vast majority of episodes are solid police
tales with political undertones, human drama, hot cars, and shooting aplenty.
This is the season when Sonny gets his Ferrari Testarossa (replacing his
amusingly-destroyed Daytona) and falls in love with a junkie doctor. Tubbs gets
an island showdown episode all to himself. Gina (Saundra Santiago, The
Sopranos) becomes a singing sensation, Switek (Michael Talbott, Manhunter) deals with the loss of a
partner, and Castillo (Edward James Olmos, Stand and Deliver) revisits
his military past. All good stuff.

And in stark contrast to today's cop dramas, which tend to feature the
occasional foot chase but rarely show any bullets fly, the villains in Miami
Vice tend to shoot first and ask questions later, immediately pulling out a
fully automatic piece and letting hundreds of rounds rip before Sonny can shout,
"Freeze, Miami Vice!" While not entirely believable, it sure is
exciting, giving us the kind of action that the 80s knew best. And that Don
Johnson sure knew how to do a barrel roll.

Standout episodes include "Walk Alone," where Tubbs infiltrates a
prison to take down some crooked prison guards, "Duty and Honor," as
Castillo tracks down a killer he once chased in Vietnam, and "Knock, Knock,
Who's There," as Crockett and Tubbs deal with a crooked DEA agent who's
stealing from dealers, but for all the right reasons. Perhaps the most memorable
is the two-parter "Down for the Count," notable for the death of
series regular Zito (John Diehl, Fail Safe). It's a strong episode given
lots of room to breath over nearly two hours, and was likely pretty shocking
when it first aired.

Miami Vice shows its age mostly in the comic relief segments, often
involving the ever-changing career of informant Izzy. These sequences tend to
stop the story dead and run on far too long, but must've been popular back in
the day or they wouldn't have continued. Similarly, the exchanges between
colleagues meant to show their friendship often comes across as stilted and
forced, Tubbs and Crockett laughing as if their partner were Don Rickles no
matter how cheesy the line was.

However, many of the show's scripts could easily be filmed today, with a few
minor changes, as a gritty and engaging contemporary series. There is almost no
continuity between episodes: each plays as its own story making little or no
reference to previous events. The dialogue is generally sparse and snappy, the
storylines complex, and the stakes high. Visual storytelling is the order of the
day, with long stretches of word-less action; "Shadow in the Dark"
opens with an extended, and rather disturbing, home invader's ritual that
carries on for several pre-credits minutes. While many episodes revolve around a
real-life political or moral issue, only one ("Baby Blues") lets the
preaching overtake the story, although that one instance does so in a rather
spectacular way and you may want to skip to the next. Looking past the
ridiculous but trendsetting fashions (was anyone comfortable in the
80s?), the occasional hammy line reading, and the often-poor attempts at comic
relief, this was quality television for adults that still entertains today.

This 5-disc set features decent print quality without too much grain, save
for the occasional piece of stock footage, and it captures all of the pastel
polyester glory. It's probably better than the show looked when it originally
aired, but there are instances of dust and scratches from time to time, and the
picture is less dynamic than today's film stocks. The audio has been remixed in
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, making little difference to the limited dynamic
range of dialogue and sound effects, but springing to life in the frequent
musical interludes, usually as Crockett dramatically speeds along in his
Ferrari. Universal's done a great job in keeping all of the original music,
featuring Peter Gabriel, Bon Jovi, Corey Hart, John Lennon, Depeche Mode and
many others, and in remixing it all to a full-sounding 5.1. The show's music
made the series, and I'm glad it's all been retained.

Sadly, but not surprisingly, no extras are included.

Closing Statement

The continuing adventures of Crockett and Tubbs make for a fine hour or so of
television if you can bear in mind that 80s fashions were, in fact, once cool.
If you have seasons one and two, save room on your shelf for this one.